Actuator with fixed pivot



Dec. 26, 1967 D. v. TINDER ACTUATOR WITH FIXED PIVOT 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 2, 1965 I I 1 l I I'IFF'II D 26, 1967 D. v. TIMBER 3,359,684

ACTUATOR WITH FIXED PIVOT Filed Aug. 2, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 AVVFIVTOX. 27d; 1 zwar.

D. V. TINDER Dec. 26, 1967 ACTUATOR WITH F IXED PIVOT 4 Sheets-Sheet :5

Filed Aug. 2, 1965 Dec. 26, 1967 D, v, UNDER 3,359,684

ACTUATOR WITH FIXED PIVOT Filed Aug. 2, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

Jan/2'0 1/ 5727s? A24 BY 40M (92m United States Patent 3,359,684 ACTUATOR WITH FIXED PIVOT David V. Tinder, Detroit, Mich., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Burn Corporation, Oak Park, Mich., a corporation of New York, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walter Kid'de & Company, Inc.

Filed Aug. 2, 1965, Ser. No. 476,524 8 Claims. (Cl. 49-349) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE There is herein disclosed a reversably operable actuator unit having oppositely rotatable output means pivotally suspended between a window and a door of a vehicle so that operation of the actuator in one direction causes opening movement of the window and reverse operation causes closing movement of the window.

This invention relates to actuator apparatus and, more particularly, to actuating apparatus for operating an actuble device, such as a Window mounted in a vehicle door or the like, between open and closed positions.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a new and improved actuator arrangement in which a reversely operable actuator unit having oppositely rotatable output means is pivotally suspended between the window and the door so that operation of the actuator in one direction causes opening movement of the window and reverse operation of the actuator unit in the opposite direction causes closing movement of the window. This invention is in certain respects, an improvement in actuators of the type disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 476,525 filed Aug. 2, 1965 for Actuator With Multiple Reversely Operable Output Means.

In the illustrative embodiments of the invention disclosed in detail hereinafter, the inventive principles are incorporated in window actuating mechanism for use with windows mounted in vehicle doors, tail gates, and the like. While particularly advantageous results are attainable in vehicular usage as a Window actuator, it will be understood that the principles may be otherwise variously embodied and employed. In vehicular usage as a window actuator, the actuator device may be variously employed with various types of window structure requiring varying types of movement due to limitations in available space and in overall vehicular design.

For example, some types of Window structure are adapted to be moved uniformly between open and closed positions while other types are adapted to be moved by a monkey motion which is not uniform. Thus some windows, such as in sedans, are adapted to be moved substantially vertically between open and closed positions while other windows, such as rear quarter windows in hard tops, are adapted to be moved by both vertical and horizontal components of motion.

Furthermore, the mounting of windows in vehicular usage varies substantially depending upon styling considerations. In some installations, for example, guide channels are provided to guide the window during the entire movement between open and closed positions while in other installations the window is only partially supported by guide channels and in still other installations guide channel support may be dispensed with entirely.

In general, the invention resides in an actuator arrangement for moving an actuable device between spaced positions comprising first and second rotatable output means, actuator means selectively operable to oppositely rotate the output means relative to each other about a common axis, pivotal means connecting the output means to the Patented Dec. 26, 1967 actuable device, fixed pivotal support means for the actuator means on the first output means spaced radially from the common axis, and movable pivotal support means for the actuator means on the second output means spaced radially from the common axis and enabling pivotal movement of the actuator means about the fixed pivotal support means as the actuable device is moved between the spaced positions. The geometry of the fixed and movable support means is such as to control the movement of the output means and progressively position the output means and the actuable device in a predetermined manner as the actuable device is moved between the spaced positions.

An illustrative embodiment of the inventive concepts is shown in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, with parts broken away, of actuator apparatus in association with a window in a vehicle door, the window being shown in a lowered position;

FIG. 2 is an opposite side elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 in an intermediate operating position;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 in a raised window position;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5-5 in FIG. .3;

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 66 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view taken along the line 7-7 in FIG. 4;

, FIG; 8 is a diagrammatic illustration of the actuator mechanism and the symmetrical connecting linkage of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic illustration of an alternative actuator arrangement having non-symmetrical connecting linkage capable of producing a monkey motion.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-7 of the drawings, the inventive concepts are illustratively embodied in an actuator arrangement associated with a window 10 mounted in a vehicle door 12. In the illustrative arrangement, the window is movable vertically between open and closed positions along spaced guides 14, 16. A channel-shaped sash 18 and gasket 20 may be provided at the bottom of the window as shown in FIG. 6. It will be understood that the window may be mounted in any conventional manner.

Motion controlling means are utilized to obtain the desired movement of the window when the actuator is operated. The motion controlling means may take any of a variety of forms whereby a desired output motion is attained. For example, guide means such as window guide channels may be utilized to control the motion of the actuable device, such as a window, or guide means in the form of linkage means connected to the actuator may be utilized, or both guide channels and linkage means may be used. Furthermore, the linkage means may be symmetrical, as shown in FIG. 8, to produce generally uniform motion, such as vertical reciprocation, or nonsymmetrical, as shown in FIG. 9, to produce non-uniform motion, such as partial vertical, partial horizontal, motion which may include both reciprocating and swinging movement. While the illustrative embodiment employs motion controlling means comprising both window guide channels and linkage means, either means can be used without the other.

The actuator apparatus is mounted within the vehicle door and is adapted to be operatively connected to the window by pivotal means 22, 24. As shown in FIG. 6, in the illustrative embodiment, the connecting means for each pivotal means 22, 24 comprises a pin 26 and roller member 28 which are confined in horizontally extending channel-shaped guideways 3t), 32 fixedly attached to the sash 18.

In the illustrative embodiment, the motion controlling means comprises, in addition to the window guides 14, 16, an L-slraped bracket member 34 fixedly attached to the vehicle door in any suitable manner as shown, for exam le, at 35 in FIG. 7. One leg 36 of the support bracket forms an integral support arm depending from the other leg 38 which has a channel-shaped form as shown in FIG. 7. A pivotally movable support arm 40 is pivotally mounted on the bracket member as indicated at 42 land may be bowed as indicated at 43 to accommodate the central portions of the actuator in the raised position of the window shown in FIG. 4. The support arms extend downwardly in generally parallel relationship to one another and are provided with spaced substantially horizontally aligned pivotal connections 44, 46 at their lower ends. Pivot 46 is adapted to move along a relatively small arc about the pivot 42 in a substantially horizontal path during operation of the actuator.

A combination transmission-motor means unit 50 is suspended between the pivotal connections 22, 24 and 44, 46 on actuating arms 52, 54 which are adapted to be simultaneously reversely rotatable in opposite directions about a common central axis of rotation 56. During the closing movement of the window from the lowered position shown in FIG. 1, the arm 52 rotates upwardly in the direction of the arrow 58 and the arm 54 rotates upwardly in the opposite direction as indicated by the arrow 60. When the window is lowered from the raised position shown in FIG. 4, the arms 52, 54 rotate in the reverse direction as indicated by the arrows 62, 64.

The transmission-motor means unit 50 is of the type described in detail in copending applications Serial No. 396,978 for Actuator filed September 14, 1964, now U.S. Patent No. 3,280,166 and Serial No. 476,525 for Actuator With Multiple Reversely Operable Output Means filed August 2, 1965. The disclosure of these applications is specifically incorporated herein by reference. In general, as shown in FIG. 5, the actuator output means comprises relatively rotatable portions 65, 66 of the unit 59*, one of which is fixedly connected to the arm 52 \as indicated at 68 and one of which is fixedly connected to the other arm 54 as indicated at 69. Each of the output means 65, 66 is rotatably driven by harmonic drive transmission means comprising annular splined output members (not shown) which are rotatably driven in opposite directions by flex spline means. The splined output members and the flex spline are rotatable about the common axis of rotation 56. The flex spline is drivably engaged with the output splines and intermittently flexed into driving engagement therewith by means of a speed reduction unit (not shown) as disclosed in the aforementioned applications. In the illustrative embodiment, the reduction unit comprises a plurality of planet roller elements drivingly supported by a sun roller element. The motor means (not shown) comprises a reversible electric motor of the axial air gap type which utilizes a disk armature connected by suitable leads 70 to a source of potential through conventional control circuitry whereby the rotation of the armature may be selectively reversed. in the illustrative embodiment, the armature is directly supported by the sun roller element of the transmission means and rotates about the common axis 56. Leads 70 are preferably connected to the unit 50 closely adjacent pivot 44 so as to minimize the movement to which the connection is subjected in use.

In operation, with the window in the lowered position of FIG. 1, energization of the motor means causes opposite rotation of the arms 52, 54 in the direction of the arrows 58, 69. As the arms are moved upwardly, the window is moved upwardly by means of the pivotal connections 22, 24. The vertical and horizontal components of motion imparted to the pivotal connections is accommodated in the illustrative embodiment by sliding movement in the guideways 3t), 32 with a maximum outwardly spaced position being attained in the intermediate position shown in FIG. 5. At the position shown in FIG. 5, the pivotal connections 22, 24 and 44, 46 are substantially horizontally aligned. Further upward movement of the arms causes the pivots 22, 24 and 44, 46 to move over center relative to the axis of rotation 56 and change their relative positions above and below axis 56. In order to lower the window, from the raised position shown in FIG. 4, the motor means is reversely actuated to cause the arms 52, 54 to rotate in the direction of the arrow 62, 64 and lower the window.

During operation, the movement of the arms 52, 54 is facilitated by displacement of the transmission-motor means unit along the arc of the pivotal connection 46 on link 40. In the position shown in FIG. 1, the unit 54 is located below the pivots 44, 46 and, in the position shown in FIG. 4, the unit 50 is located above the pivots 44, 46. As shown in FIG. 3, the link 40 is pivotally outwardly displaced from the positions shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 to enable rotative movement of the arms to continue through the horizontally aligned intermediate position of FIG. 3. It will be apparent that while the output arm 54 moves in a true are about the fixed pivot 44, the output arm 52 does not move along a true arc due to the displacement of the pivot 46 along the arc defined by the swinging movement of link 40 about pivot 42. In some applications, such as, for example, in vehicular station wagon tail gates and the like, it is contemplated that the function of displacement of the pivot 46, provided by the swinging link 40 in the illustrative embodiment, can be provided by a roller-slot arrangement in which, for example, the pivotal connection 46 may be provided by a roller element mounted in a slot in the actuator arm. Furthermore, it will be apparent that location and spacing of the pivotal connections may be varied. For example, in a tail gate installation, as previously described, due to the span of the actuatable device, it may be desirable to locate the pivots 44, 46 between the pivots 22, 24 and the central axis of rotation 56 of the actuator. Thus an extremely simple arrangement of pivots and links is utilized to attain maximum displacement of the actuable window device in a new and improved manner.

The movement of the actuator and associated linkages may be more readily understood by reference to FIG- 8 wherein the solid lines show the position of the linkage and actuator in the lowered position of the window, the dotted lines show the position of the linkage and actuator in an intermediate lower position (a), the dash-dot-dash lines show the position of the linkage and actuator in an intermediate upper position (b), and the dash-dot-dotdash lines show the position of the linkage and actuator in the raised position (c). It may be noted that the central pivotal axis 56 of the actuator moves along a generally vertically extending arc 8% while the pivot 46 moves along a generally horizontally extending arc 82.

An alternative, non-symmetrical, monkey motion type linkage arrangement is shown in FIG. 9. In this embodiment, swinging link is shorter than corresponding link 40 of FIG. 8 and pivotal connection 142 is closer to pivotal connection 146. In the lowered position, pivots 122, 124 are vertically spaced so that a line 123, representing the bottom of the a-ctuable device, is inclined from the horizontal. Thus as arms 152, 154 rotate about central axis 156 of the actuator, the window bottom line is moved variably vertically through less and less angles of inclination, represented by positions a, b, and c, for example, until a horizontal position d is attained in the closed position of the window. During movement between the raised and lowered positions, the central axis of rotation 156 moves along the generally vertically extending are and the pivot 146 moves along the generally horizontally extending are 182 as shown. It may be noted that arm 154 moves about fixed pivot 144 such that the pivot 124 moves along an arc defined thereby. On the other hand,'the pivot 146 of arm 152 is moved at the same time that the arm is rotated about axis 156 so that pivot 122 is moved along an irregular path as indicated.

It is intended that alternative embodiments of the inventive concepts, disclosed herein with reference'to the illustrative embodiment shown in the drawings, be included within the scope of the appended claims except as limited by the prior art.

The invention claimed is:

1. An actuator arrangement for moving an actuable device between spaced positions comprising first and second relatively rotatable output means, rotatable actuator means selectively operable to oppositely rotate the output means relative to one another about a common axis, said rotatable actuator means having relatively rotatable members relatively rotatable about a common axis, the common axes of said rotatable actuator means and said rotatable members being coaxial, pivotal means connecting the output means to the actuable device, fixed pivotal support means for the actuator means on said first rotatable output means and spaced radially from said common axis, and movable pivotal support means for the actuator means on said second rotatable output means and spaced radially from said common axis and enabling pivotal movement of the actuator means about the fixed pivotal support means as the actuable device is moved between the spaced positions.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 and wherein the pivotal means is movable from one side of the common axes to the opposite side of the common axes during movement of said actuable device between the spaced positions.

3. An actuator for opening and closing a window in a vehicle door or the like comprising: operator connecting means attached to the window, selectively operable rotatable motor means having an axis of rotation, first and second oppositely rotatable output means drivably connected to said motor means and being operable about said axis of rotation, first and second oppositely rotatable operating arm means connected to said output means for rotation therewith about said axis of rotation, each of said arm means being pivotally connected to said connecting means, and means movably mounting said motor means and said output means and said actuating arm means on said door and enabling transverse movement of said axis of rotation of said motor means including a first means fixedly pivotally connected to said door and a second means movably pivotally connected to said door whereby during opposite rotation of said arm means to impart movement to said window, said motor means and said output means move simultaneously with said axis of rotation of said motor means being transversely displaced as said output means rotate about said axis of rotation of said motor means.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3 and wherein each of said arm means having portions extending radially beyond said axis of rotation, said first means being pivotally connected to one of said arm means at a point spaced radially outwardly beyond said axis of rotation opposite the pivotal connection of said one of said arm means to said connecting means, and said second means being pivotally connected to the other of said arm means at a point spaced radially outwardly beyond said axis of rotation opposite the pivotal connection of said other of said arm means to said connecting means.

5. An actuator arrangement for closing and opening a window in a vehicle door or the like comprising first and second actuator arm means rotatable in opposite directions about a common axis, rotatable actuator means having a pair of opposite relatively rotatable members relatively rotatable about said common axis and selectively operable to oppositely rotate said actuator arm means about said common axis, pivotal means spaced from said common axis for connecting said actuator arm means to said window, connecting means on said window for receiving said pivotal means and permitting movement thereof between positions spaced transversely to the direction of movement of said window, a fixed pivotal support for said actuator means spaced from said common axis opposite the pivotal means on one of said actuator arm means, and a movable pivotal support for said actuator means spaced from said common axis opposite the pivotal means on the other of said actuator arm means, said movable pivotal support enabling pivotal movement of said actuator means about said fixed pivotal support as said window is opened and closed.

6. The invention as defined in claim 5 and wherein said movable pivotal support comprises linkage means pivotally connected at one end on said door and pivotally connected at the opposite end to the other of said actuator arm means, the pivotal means being movable from one side of said common axis to the opposite side of said com-mon axis during movement of the window between the open and closed positions.

7. The invention as defined in claim 6 and wherein said fixed pivotal support comprises an L-shaped bracket means having a portion attached to the vehicle door adjacent the window sill, a depending leg portion extending from said first mentioned portion and providing said fixed pivotal support at a position intermediate the position of the window sash in the opened position and in the closed position, and said linkage means being pivotally mounted on said first mentioned portion and extending therefrom substantially parallelly to said depending leg portion.

8. An actuator arrangement for causing movement of a window mounted in a vehicle door or the like comprising: window guide means mounted in the door, said window being slidably associated with said guide means for movement between an opened position and a closed position, bracket means fixed within said door, selectively operable rotatable drive means mounted on said bracket means and having an axis of rotation extending transversely to the path of movement of said window, fixedly mount ed pivot means connecting said drive means to said bracket means, movable linkage means pivotally interconnecting said drive means and said bracket means, one end of said linkage means being fixedly pivotally connected between said drive means and said bracket means, the other end of said linkage means being movably pivotally connected between said drive means and said bracket means, a first rotatable actuating arm means rotatably connected to said drive means for rotation about said axis of rotation, a second rotatable actuating arm means rotatably connected to said drive means for rotation about said axis of rotation, connecting means on said window, one end of one of said rotatable actuating arm means being pivotally associated with said connecting means at one side of said window, the other end of said one of said rotatable actuating arm means having said fixedly mounted pivot means connected thereto, one end of the other of said rotatable actuating arm means being pivotally associated with said connecting means at the other side of said window, the other end of said other one of said rotatable actuating arm means having the other end of said linkage means pivotally connected thereto, and the pivotal connections between said actuating arm means and said connecting means being movable parallel to the path of movement of said window to cause movement of said window between the opened position and the closed position and being aligned transversely of said axis and displaceable transversely of said axis by uniformly varying the spacing therebetween, the pivotal connections between said actuating arm means and said bracket means being substantially aligned transversely of said axis and movable transversely of said axis relative to one another, the drive means being displaceable parallel to the path of move- 8 ment of said Window during rotation of said actuating arm References Cited means from a position Whereat said axis is spaced on one UNITED STATES PATENTS side of a line between the pivotal connections at the other ends of said actuating arm means to a position whereat 2398852 4/1946 Parsons 49349 said axis is spaced on the opposite side of a line drawn 5 between the pivotal connections at the other ends of said DAVID WILLIAMOWSKY zma'y Examiner actuating arm means. I. K. BELL, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN ACTUATOR ARRANGEMENT FOR MOVING AN ACTUABLE DEVICE BETWEEN SPACED POSIONTIONS COMPRISING FIRST AND SECOND RELATIVELY ROTATABLE OUTPUT MEANS, ROTATBLE ACTUATOR MEANS SELECTIVELY OPERABLE TO OPPOSITELY ROTATE THE OUT NUT MEANS RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER ABOUT A COMMON AXIS, SAID ROTATABLE ACTUATOR MEANSHAVING RELATIVELY ROTATABLE MEMBERS RELATIVELY ROTATABLE ABOUT A COMMON AXIS, THE COMMON AXES OF SAID ROTATABLE ACTUATOR MEANS AND SAID ROTATABLE MEMBERS BEING COAXIAL, PIVOTAL MEANS CONNECTING THE OUTPUT MEANS TO THE ACTUABLE DEVICE, FIXED PIVOTAL SUPPORT MEANS FOR THE ACTUATOR MEANS ON SAID FIRST RO- 